Summary

For a celestial born, finding their mate would mean smooth sailing for their rest of their life. But this isn't the same for Lucy, for her past holds her back from having the relationship she wanted with a certain lightning dragon slayer. Minor romance and mentions of dark topics in future chapters.

Prologue : Tragedy After Tragedy

7 July X772

The memory of the incident was hazy, but she could never forget the fear thrumming in her heart, neither could she forget the terrified screams that filled the air as the scene took place. Being only 5 years old, it was quite a traumatic incident for her. Just remembering the memory sent sharp knives into her heart. All pain and emotions would wash away from her when she remembered of how she could have prevented it from happening.

She had been walking with her mother, her 1-year-old sister, Aqua, was slowly walking in front of them, her dark blue hair contrasted against her mother, Layla, and older sister's pale blonde hair. Her mother's eyes were on the bluenette but she was discussing with the blonde on how they would celebrate the birthday of the eldest sibling, which happened to be today. It was at that moment when it all started. Her glowing red eyes widened as she watched something fly just a few millimetres away from her ear.

A dagger.

A dagger was all it took to bring her life crashing down.

In a split second, the knife could be seen sailing through the air at high speeds before lodging itself in its target. Before she knew it, a pained roar tore out of her throat.

"Aqua!" That one name rang through the air.

As if a time mage had used their magic to slow down time, she watched as her younger sister stare back with wide brown eyes as she slowly fell back. Whoever had thrown the dagger must have been an expert. Right above her heart, a silver dagger could be seen sticking out, blood pooling. Her dulled eyes told the blonde that the dagger had managed to strike her heart, almost instantaneously killing her.

A crazed giggle dragged their attention to the masked man who was now crouching on the window sill just a couple of metres away from them. A black wool cap and a piece of black cloth covered his hair and face, only showing his black eyes where a mischievous glint shone. If it weren't for the black cloth, she was sure that she would be seeing his lips being curled into a sadistic smirk. A black large cloak had been lazily thrown around his shoulder, shielding his body from view but she could clearly see the dark silver armour. The small lacrima cuboid in his left hand told her that the man was not a mage. Lifting his hand closer to his mouth, the words he spoke forced her to finally realize what really happened.

"Target killed," He gloated, "And it looks like we struck gold! All our targets are here, I'm going for the kill,"

Her sister, her younger baby sister, had just been killed and now, the man who did the deed was aiming for their lives as well. Her eyes widened further, an action she didn't know was possible, as she watched the man flick his wrist, another silver dagger appearing in his right hand. He was a mage, a requip mage to be exact. He must have used the non-mage version of the communications lacrima to save his magic, she mused.

The man was definitely an expert with his magic as it didn't even take him a second to aim and with a flick of his wrist, he sent the dagger sailing, the dagger seemed to cut through the air. It was aimed at her.

But before she could react by using her magic as a shield, a strong force pulled her as a pair of arms circled her shoulders, her face meeting with light pink silk. Her eyes widened as she realized what had just happened.

Her mother had taken the hit for her.

It was then, did her mind went into overdrive. Thoughts flew through her mind at high speeds, her head throbbed. The last she remembered before blacking out was the sadistic laugh filling the hallway.

8 July X773

As seconds flew by, the sky darkened. The golden sun was covered by massive, dark rain clouds, but not even a single drop of rain fell down. As there was little to no light, there were barely any colours, the only colours being the electric yellow from the lightning striking the ground. Loud claps of thunder, following said lightning, reverberated around the field where the blonde girl could be seen surrounded by a small group of people.

Her usual glowing red eyes, filled with light emotions, was replaced with a dull brown as she gazed at two large stones in front of her. She wasn't the only one staring at those two stones with heavy hearts, though she did feel it much more painfully.

It wasn't even a day past since her mother and younger sister had been pronounced dead. To make it worse, both was on her birthday.

She didn't know what to feel.

Should she feel upset? Tears running across his cheeks as she screams at the heavens, questioning why two of her loved ones was taken away so early. Her ache as she reminisced about the times she spent with her 1-year-old sister, about the times her mother taught her celestial magic and the ways of a celestial born. How they were given bonus powers to protect their mates, or in her words, their stars.

Or should she be angry? Her blood would boil as she glared at the skies. Self-loathing would overtake her senses as she thought of all the ways that she could have used to prevent this from happening. Oh, if only she had listened to her mother and meditated every day, would she be powerful enough to stop the assassination from happening?

In the end, settled to feeling nothing, ignoring how her temperature was dropping drastically. Though people would disagree, she believed that she did not have the right to grief over the deaths of her mother and younger sister. It was because of her incompetence that they died, her mind would repeat.

Glancing over her shoulder for a second, she saw her blonde father staring at her with sad eyes. She was immediately reminded of the promise she made to her mother, to take care of her father. At first, she had been confused. But now, she understood. It was most likely that Layla had a feeling that this would happen. How Lucy didn't figure it out earlier, angers her. With a slight nod, she felt her determinations rise, a determination to protect her father.

But unknown to her. her father had other plans. To other people, he looked concerned over the well-being of his daughter. It wasn't hard to believe, his daughter did witness the murder of two of her family members first hand. But if one were to look closer, looking behind his facade of grief, they would see anger and hatred. Anger at himself for not listening to his wife's advice on upgrading their security. It was because of his lack of security that the assassin was able to trespass his property. Hatred for his daughter. The assassination was aimed towards her, yet she remained to be the only survivor. He knew that his wife wouldn't approve of his reaction but he just couldn't care. He had to take out his anger somehow and Lucy just happened to be the nearest and most logical option.

His glare intensified as he thought back to what he should have done, but never did. He should have known better than to allow his wife to teach his eldest daughter celestial magic and whatever this mysterious magic that not kills but brings plants back to life. How could he have not suspected people to not know her plans? If only he had a way to get rid his daughter of her magic, the one reason why everything happened.

It was then, did a certain bureau popped in his mind, his lips curled into a small, but dark smirk.

The Bureau of Magical Development. A Bureau that specialized on getting rid of excess magic.

A dark glint flickered in his eyes. Questions pop up. If somebody had seen his glint, would they find it in them to stop his plans? If they did, would the girl be in this position? On the other hand, if she wasn't sent there, would her mind break even more? Would she fall in the dark, just like her pseudo older brother and trainer? None of this questions could be answered, nobody was brave enough to find out.

Slipping a piece of paper, he scribbled a few words before he passed it to one of his servants, the latter's eyes widened, glancing at the blonde girl with pity-filled eyes before hurrying back into the mansion. With that, the blonde man continued to put up his façade of being upset over his family's death.

One Month Later

Pain.

She was in pain.

Every part, even the ones she never knew could feel, was in pain.

It was all she could feel.

Her head was throbbing as if somebody had hit her on the head with something metallic. Which also meant her jaw were in pain too. She could barely open her mouth, and even then, it wasn't much. Her eyes were shut tightly as the light surrounding her was just too bright for her eyes.

Her heart felt as if it were encased with something unbreakable. Every time it beat, she swore she could feel her heart hitting something crystal-like. She knew it should hurt or feel as if it did not belong there, but she felt neither. But how was that possible? To have crystal surrounding her heart, that is. That statement by itself felt as if it came from a fiction story.

To make it worse, she felt metallic bindings circling her wrists and ankles, holding her down. She found out the hard way that the material used to make the ropes were indestructible after trying, and failing epically when she tried tugging on them. To say it was painful would be an understatement. It felt as if her bones was being separated from its joints.

Why was she here? She asked for the millionth time before remembering why. After her magic went out of control, her father had sent to some place to cure her except that it wasn't for getting rid of excess magic. It did the exact opposite, taking her magic and multiplying by thousands. It was in this hour that her session usually started, ending at a quite late time. But to say didn't help would be a lie as well. Due to their 'help', she managed to overcome her darker side.

Now, thinking back to her family, she wondered how her father was doing. Without her mother or lively younger sister, she was sure that the blonde man was now a mess. She didn't even want to start thinking of what had happened to the family's company. Shaking her head, she erased those dark thoughts. She couldn't risk of thinking dark thoughts as it would give her darker side a chance to overtake her. Before her mother had died,she had promised that she would take care of her father and she knew that she couldn't do so if she went insane.

After a few minutes, when she felt like her eyes won't burn from the intense lighting, she slowly opened her eyes but it wasn't long before she snapped them to open, glancing around with terror-filled eyes. Instead of her familiar, warm bedroom, she was in some sort of laboratory. How she had forgotten always amused her, no matter how many times it had happened.

Her eyes widened, something she didn't think was possible when she saw a woman wearing a lab coat. But that wasn't what that had struck fear into her heart. It was the lethal-looking smirk that was gracing her lips. Looking closer, she saw that the woman's hands were on the on/off switch and before the blonde could protest, the woman swiftly flicked it up.

In a split second, the pain she felt earlier was like a simple scratch compared to the pain the machine gave her. Not wanting to give anyone the satisfaction of hurting her, she bit her lips in an attempt to stem her screaming that was bubbling in her throat.

When the session was over, her lips was bleeding slightly but she had successfully contained her screams. Her heart was now beating faster and she could, somehow, feel the crystal wall even more. The cool walls made it easier to bear the pain. Before she knew it, she was out cold.

It wasn't long before she came to. But, for the first time, it wasn't because it was time for a meal or shower. For the first time, it was because she had a new roommate. The roommate came in the form of a girl two years older than herself. Her waist-long hair was as black as the inky black lake that could be seen from the circular window. The purple eyes that were staring at her with curious eyes rivaled the shade that belonged in the sky, the gold-red specks in her eyes glowed like stars. Her name, Ultear, was just as spectacular as her appearance.

At first, she didn't know how to feel. Should she feel happy to have somebody to talk to, have somebody who could understand her? Or should she feel pity and worry for the pain the older girl would be forced to go through? After a while, she decided to just be happy, that maybe it could help ease their pain if they could share it. Putting on a soft smile, she introduced herself as Lucy, not bothering to say her last name just like the other girl did. Not even a minute later, the older girl had given her the nickname 'Lux', something the blonde willingly accepted. For once, since she had arrived here, she was happy.

6 Months Later

It's been six months since Ultear's appearance, seven since Lucy had arrived, and both girls had enough. They had enough of waking up to the other's screams of terror and pain. It was the time they get their freedom back, it was time to strike back.

When Lucy told the older girl of her plan to break out, her red eyes seemed to light up as a grin tugged at her lips. Today had been the day they were supposed to execute their plan, the day they would gain freedom and go back to their families.

The plan had been going smoothly, they had managed to sneak past the guards and was now in a forest. But somehow, somewhere, there was an error in Lucy's calculation, thus, making a hole in her plans. As the bureau was located in the desert, she didn't really think about having to fight wild animals. She had been so sure that even if there were any wild animals, that the bureau would've killed them already. That would be the reason why the girls were in this predicament.

It was only after a few minutes then did she realize that something, or someone, was missing. Skidding to a stop, her wide eyes glanced around in horror. Ultear was nowhere to be seen.

"Tear? Tear, where are you?!" The blonde yelled in a desperate attempt to find her black-haired friend.

But it was useless, she knew that Ultear was nowhere near her. How did she not realize the disappearance of her friend?

Unknown to her, the wyverns was now just a few meters from her. But unluckily for the animals, a burst of raw magic burst from her body, instantly killing whatever was in its path, including the wyverns. Falling on her knees, she let out a strangled scream. That was the last time she had seen Ultear.

Just a few minutes later, a couple of men from a nearby light guild would soon stumble upon her, bringing her to the nearest hospital. Her father would then swiftly arrive at the hospital.

"Lucy-san? Are you listening?" The stern voice brought the 7-year-old blonde back to reality, only noticing that her instructor was frowning at her.

Her immediate reaction was to sit up straight, erasing any emotions from her face.

"I'm sorry Darc-san, I just got lost in my thoughts. I won't do it again!" She hurriedly apologised, silently chastising herself. She has to do well for her father, she couldn't risk messing up again. If being a proper lady was what her father wanter, then so be it. A proper lady she would be, it was going to be alright.

To think that everything was going to be alright had been a mistake for her. It was just the beginning.

Author's Note

Hey! So if you are new here, this is actually a rewrite of 'Celestial Mates'. Hopefully, I will be able to write fast enough to catch up with the previous version. If you didn't notice, Lucy is one year older in this version.

For the older readers, yes, this is from OVA 3. I just thought that it would better at the starting than somewhere in the middle. I hope you like this new version ^-^

Until the next chapter, Bye!

-Draconaise-Vermilion-

Updated (03/06/2016)

Edit 1 (-)